Analysis: Trump gained little ground this year in China trade war

A year of threatening to escalate a trade war with China aggressively has brought the Trump administration only marginal progress in securing a deal that would get China to change predatory policies like forced technology transfers and intellectual property theft.

While President Trump has raised tariffs, overall, he has held back on the most punitive measures. Beijing has taken note of this, says Derek Scissors, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute. China has decided to try to wait Trump out.